Centro San Antonio helps accommodate downtown's growing residential population, enhance its office and retail market, and position downtown as a premier convention and visitor destination through the efforts of the Public Improvement District.
2011
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May 9, 2011
Get Lost: New River Walk Smartphone Tour Invites Visitors to Get Lost in SA River Walk History
The QR code invites visitors to "Get Lost" in the wonderful history of the River Walk with the new smartphone tour.
Smartphone Tour Highlights Historic River Walk
- Unveiling of Historic Hugman River Walk Tour-
Using state-of-the-art technology that makes history accessible, Downtown Alliance and the City of San Antonio have developed the Hugman River Walk Tour – the only free interactive self-guided tour of the San Antonio River Walk. With a smart phone or pad device, visitors access the tour by scanning a quick response (QR) code to navigate along the internationally-recognized tourist attraction. The tour’s QR codes are found on the River Walk’s wayfinding and interpretive signs.
Bronze plaques in the form of Hugman’s original architect’s seal, designed and installed by Beaty Palmer Architects, identify original Hugman-designed features along the River Walk. The tour application features historic photos and history provided by Lewis F. Fisher, author of the “River Walk: The Epic Story of San Antonio’s River.” The website and GPS-enabled mobile application were developed by San Antonio-based digital marketing firm BIBISI (www.bibisicorp.com) and are available, at no charge, at www.hugmantour.com or can be downloaded, as an audio podcast tour, at iTunes.
How To Access the Historic Hugman River Walk Tour
To access the tour on a smart phone or pad device, users must download a QR reader application to scan QR codes on signs at along the River Walk between the south flood gate, near South St. Mary’s and Villita Street, and an original Hugman dam on the north at 4th Street. Navigating the nearly two-mile horse-shoe bend developed according to Robert Hugman’s 1929 design drawings, the application guides users to 12 points-of-interest, marked by the bronze Hugman seal. Between the 12 stops on the tour, smaller bronze plaques mark additional architectural elements that are original to Hugman’s design.
Background
An ancient water source called Yanaguana - or “refreshing waters” - by the area Indians, the San Antonio River’s frequent floods became an issue for the developing city after the turn of the 20th century. An original flood control plan in the 1920s proposed the paving of large stretches of the river through downtown.
While the need for flood control was significant, concerned officials and citizens – led by the San Antonio Conservation Society —championed a plan to preserve and maintain the river’s natural environment. In 1929, a young architect named Robert H.H. Hugman began a visionary plan for the development of the riverfront in the downtown bend. Called “Shops of Aragon and Romula,” Hugman’s plan not only provided for beautification of the river, but also proposed commercial development at the river level. The concept of shops and restaurants along the scenic river met with skepticism, delaying the progress of Hugman’s vision.
In 1939, formal development of the River Walk commenced utilizing Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding. Officially overseeing the River Beautification Project, Robert Hugman and WPA engineer Edwin P. Arneson completed drawings for the River Walk design based largely on Hugman’s earlier plans. Flood gates were established at the north and south ends of the river’s “horseshoe bend” providing flood protection for potential commercial development. Hugman served as supervisor of the River Walk project for a year before he was dismissed. At the time, his designs for stone paving, bridges, stairways and the Arneson Theater were considered too great a deviation from the bend’s natural form and character.
Much of Hugman’s vision for the River Walk was realized in the work that was completed by 1941. That year, the River Walk officially opened with nearly 50,000 people attending the dedication ceremony. The completed River Walk featured 17,000 feet of new sidewalks, 31 stairways, 3 dams, 4,000 shrubs and plants and numerous custom-designed benches and other amenities. With the development of HemisFair in 1968, the River Walk received renewed interest and attention as it was expanded and transformed into the modern, bustling River Walk that we see today. In 1970s, Robert H.H. Hugman was officially recognized for his contribution to the development of the historic River Walk.
For more information or to access the full tour, visit www.HugmanTour.com or call the City’s Downtown Operations Department at (210) 207-3677.
- Unveiling of Historic Hugman River Walk Tour-
Using state-of-the-art technology that makes history accessible, Downtown Alliance and the City of San Antonio have developed the Hugman River Walk Tour – the only free interactive self-guided tour of the San Antonio River Walk. With a smart phone or pad device, visitors access the tour by scanning a quick response (QR) code to navigate along the internationally-recognized tourist attraction. The tour’s QR codes are found on the River Walk’s wayfinding and interpretive signs.
Bronze plaques in the form of Hugman’s original architect’s seal, designed and installed by Beaty Palmer Architects, identify original Hugman-designed features along the River Walk. The tour application features historic photos and history provided by Lewis F. Fisher, author of the “River Walk: The Epic Story of San Antonio’s River.” The website and GPS-enabled mobile application were developed by San Antonio-based digital marketing firm BIBISI (www.bibisicorp.com) and are available, at no charge, at www.hugmantour.com or can be downloaded, as an audio podcast tour, at iTunes.
How To Access the Historic Hugman River Walk Tour
To access the tour on a smart phone or pad device, users must download a QR reader application to scan QR codes on signs at along the River Walk between the south flood gate, near South St. Mary’s and Villita Street, and an original Hugman dam on the north at 4th Street. Navigating the nearly two-mile horse-shoe bend developed according to Robert Hugman’s 1929 design drawings, the application guides users to 12 points-of-interest, marked by the bronze Hugman seal. Between the 12 stops on the tour, smaller bronze plaques mark additional architectural elements that are original to Hugman’s design.
Background
An ancient water source called Yanaguana - or “refreshing waters” - by the area Indians, the San Antonio River’s frequent floods became an issue for the developing city after the turn of the 20th century. An original flood control plan in the 1920s proposed the paving of large stretches of the river through downtown.
While the need for flood control was significant, concerned officials and citizens – led by the San Antonio Conservation Society —championed a plan to preserve and maintain the river’s natural environment. In 1929, a young architect named Robert H.H. Hugman began a visionary plan for the development of the riverfront in the downtown bend. Called “Shops of Aragon and Romula,” Hugman’s plan not only provided for beautification of the river, but also proposed commercial development at the river level. The concept of shops and restaurants along the scenic river met with skepticism, delaying the progress of Hugman’s vision.
In 1939, formal development of the River Walk commenced utilizing Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding. Officially overseeing the River Beautification Project, Robert Hugman and WPA engineer Edwin P. Arneson completed drawings for the River Walk design based largely on Hugman’s earlier plans. Flood gates were established at the north and south ends of the river’s “horseshoe bend” providing flood protection for potential commercial development. Hugman served as supervisor of the River Walk project for a year before he was dismissed. At the time, his designs for stone paving, bridges, stairways and the Arneson Theater were considered too great a deviation from the bend’s natural form and character.
Much of Hugman’s vision for the River Walk was realized in the work that was completed by 1941. That year, the River Walk officially opened with nearly 50,000 people attending the dedication ceremony. The completed River Walk featured 17,000 feet of new sidewalks, 31 stairways, 3 dams, 4,000 shrubs and plants and numerous custom-designed benches and other amenities. With the development of HemisFair in 1968, the River Walk received renewed interest and attention as it was expanded and transformed into the modern, bustling River Walk that we see today. In 1970s, Robert H.H. Hugman was officially recognized for his contribution to the development of the historic River Walk.
For more information or to access the full tour, visit www.HugmanTour.com or call the City’s Downtown Operations Department at (210) 207-3677.